Just a Phone Call Away
by ekc293
Summary: "As the phone started ringing, she knew that she was calling the right person. By the second ring, she began to think that this was a terrible idea." A Knockout Fic, but different... One-shot, not very long, some JimxKate family love, kind of angsty.


Wow... I am seriously impressed with myself today. Two completely different storylines published within 4 hours of each other? I never thought I'd see the day.

But... back to more exciting news. I told myself I wouldn't write a Knockout story because the amount of them on this site is slightly unnerving, but this idea came to me while I was cutting my mom-mom's grass today and if had to be written.

We all saw that Jim Beckett was at Montgomery's funeral. This is my mind's idea of how he got there. Just a little JimxKate family love. I don't think this has been done before... but I'm not entirely sure.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Castle. Really, I don't.

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><p>When Jim Beckett heard his phone start to ring at 2:30 in the morning, he almost let it go to voicemail. After the first ring, he rolled over in bed and pushed himself deeper into his pillows, trying to ignore the sound.<p>

By the second ring, he was annoyed. He was going to give whoever was on the other end of that phone a lesson in courtesy.

He checked the caller ID as the phone began to ring for the third time. Before the third ring ended, he had already picked up the phone, and quickly held it to his ear, his heart racing as he began speaking.

"Hello? Katie? Are you alright?"

The knot in his stomach tightened. Why on Earth was Kate calling him this early in the morning?

Something was wrong. That had to be it. She's hurt. She needs him.

Sitting in her apartment, Kate held her own phone up to her ear. Only four hours before, she had been in that hangar with Montgomery. Four hours since she found out that her mentor had played a part in her mother's murder. Four hours since he gave his own life to save hers.

It seems like it had been days.

When she finally got back to her apartment (Castle had driven her home, seeing as she was in no condition to drive). It took a good five minutes to convince him that she would be fine and he should go home and tell Martha and Alexis what had happened. She reached out and gently squeezed his hand as she gave him a forced smile. He looked exhausted and his eyes were red and she was sure he looked the same way, if not worse. She thanked him, let go of his hand, and told him she'd call him if she needed anything. He left, although she could tell that he wasn't happy about it.

That had been twenty minutes ago. Kate was drained, both emotionally and physically, but she couldn't sleep. She knew that if she went to sleep now, the nightmares would shortly follow.

She couldn't do what she did with her mother's murder. She couldn't bottle up all her feelings and hope that eventually they went away.

She needed to talk to someone. She needed to let this out.

Anyone out of the precinct was out of the question. They were dealing with their own emotions right now. And they already knew how broken she would be because of this, they didn't need to actually see it.

Her next immediate thought was calling Castle. While he had seemingly forgotten about the argument they had the last time they had spoken, she hadn't. Kate knew she couldn't unload all her feelings onto him without apologizing first. And frankly, she felt ashamed of how she had treated him. She had said things that she didn't mean and told him some pretty awful things when he was just looking out for her. She would apologize soon, but tonight? She didn't think she could handle it.

Kate knew that the person she really wanted to talk to was Montgomery. She wanted to yell at him, scream at him that he needed to think about what he was doing; scream the names of his wife and his daughters; beg him to think about what this would be do to them. Roy knew he was going to die in that hangar; he was going to fight and he was going to die. Kate knew how it felt to lose a parent to murder. She knew it was something that would haunt his family forever, perhaps more so than if he spent the rest of his life in prison. She wanted to hit him, get up in his face and make him see that him being with his family was worth more than her life; make him see that he didn't need to be a hero and try to fix the mistake he made all those years ago.

But she couldn't do that. She'd never be able to do that.

The next person she thought to talk to was her mother. But again, that just wasn't possible. Before she could even fully register what she was doing, she had her phone in her hand and was dialing the number she knew by heart.

As the phone started ringing, she knew that she was calling the right person.

By the second ring, she began to think that this was a terrible idea. He would be angry. He would be sleeping. She would just be worrying him unnecessarily.

When the phone started ringing for the third time, she almost hung up when she heard his voice on the other end, anxious and concerned.

She couldn't speak, she wasn't even sure she was breathing. Her dad didn't stop speaking though. "Kate? Kate, are you there? Katie? Is everything alright? Are you..."

He stopped when he heard her sniffling on her end of the phone. She was crying? He knew then that whatever had happened had to have been serious.

His voice became even more anxious, "Katie, please? Tell me what's wrong."

Kate took a shuddering breath and tried to compose herself enough to speak. She was shocked (but not entirely surprised) by how small her voice sounded.

"He's dead."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jim gave a sigh of relief. She was speaking. She didn't seem to be hurt physically. She was alive. He then began racking his brain to try and figure out who she was talking about. Kate was surrounded by death and dying all day. Who had died that would bring out the immediate reaction. He was coming up empty.

His voice grew softer, trying to calm his daughter's obvious anguish, "Who, sweetie? Who died?" He paused for a moment trying to ignore the sinking feeling he felt in the pit of his stomach as he thought of a person who could invoke this reaction in his daughter. He couldn't keep the shake out of his voice when he asked, "Is Rick...?" He couldn't even finish the thought.

He could practically feel her shudder through the phone, "No, it's not him." He could feel her relief in saying those words. And Jim let out a sigh of relief as well.

Jim honestly didn't think Kate would be able to survive if she lost Rick.

Jim turned his attention back on his daughter, who was obviously trying to control her emotions on the other end of the line. Jim felt completely helpless, but he was determined to try to help his only daughter.

He still felt guilty for not being the person she needed when Johanna had died. Instead, he had let his own grief swallow him whole, and in reality, forced Kate to deal with the loss of both parents, not just her mother.

With a start, Jim realized that Kate was speaking softly. She was rambling, barely breathing, the words coming quickly between quiet gasps of breath. "I told him not to. I told him he didn't have to do it. He died to save me. He gave up his life to save mine. And now he's gone. He's never coming back and it's all my fault. He had a wife. And two daughters. Oh god, it's all my fault. He's dead and it's all my fault..."

Her words trailed off and were replaced by the sound of muffled crying. Jim wanted her to let it all out. He knew how much she kept bottled up inside after Johanna's death, but he also knew that she needed to breathe.

He kept his tone soft as he interrupted her, despite the fact that his heart was aching to hear his baby girl in so much distress. "Katie, shh... Calm down, sweetie. Breathe, Katie," he murmured, hoping that she could hear him.

His attempts at calming her didn't seem to be helping.

He hated to ask her again, but he needed to know what was going on in order to help her.

Jim kept the same soft tone as he asked the question that was tormenting his daughter, "Katie...Who died?"

He heard Kate bit back a sob. "It's the Captain, dad. Montgomery's gone."

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><p>So, there you have it.<br>I'm not sure how much I kept them in character... but I imagine Kate would be pretty distraught and most father's would be anxious to help if their daughter called them hysterical at 2:30 in the morning...  
>I know it's not very long, but I just wanted to get this out (:<br>As always, **Love it? Hate it? Let me know what you think!**


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